The Sea Level Singer-Songwriter Festival has brought an impressive cast of characters to Norfolk over its four-year history. Ben Taylor, son of the more famous James, has played it. So has Justin Townes Earle, son of the more famous Steve.

Susan Werner also has performed at the festival, an annual fundraiser for Tidewater Arts Outreach.

This year, the festival has booked probably its most high-profile act, Shelby Lynne. A singer who won Best New Artist Grammy award for 2000, Lynne is a critically acclaimed artist. She's sung with Peter Wolf, Willie Nelson and Vince Gill among others. Her original songs have been recorded by Natalie Cole and Randy Travis.

Her album "I Am Shelby Lynne" from 2000 proved to be her breakthrough as a recording artist. Even though she's never had a top 10 country or pop single, she's stitched together an impressive body of work. Lynne's most recent release is last year's "Revelation Road."

"It stands as Lynne's most pared-down production," wrote Jim Farber in the New York Daily News. "The songs keep swinging back to the safety blanket of her acoustic guitar. It's a ballad-driven disc, yet the ones here draw on the full palette of American influences: country, pop, R&B, rock, blues and soul."

She'll play April 5 at the Naro Expanded Cinema. Tickets are $30 and are on sale now through the Tidewater Arts Outreach website.

In addition to Lynne's concert kicking off the festival, Sea Level includes a local songwriting contest.

"The festival is accepting submissions of original music by unsigned artists of all ages who live within 100 miles of Norfolk," a press release announced. Those interested can read entry rules, pay the $25 entry fee and upload their music at TWartsoutreach.org.

The deadline for entering is March 1.

Ten semifinalists will be chosen and asked to perform one song at the Emerging Artist Showcase, April 7 at the Chrysler Museum Kaufman Theatre. Three finalists will then be chosen by judges to perform a second song. Based on those performances, a winner will be picked. The winner will get the chance to make live appearances on "Hunter at Sunrise" (WHRV HD3) with Hunter Hughes and "Out of the Box" with Paul Shugrue on WHRV-FM (89.5).

Those eligible must:

Live within 100 miles of Norfolk, VA

Not have a released a full-length album

Upload two MP3 files and submit an entry fee of $25 by March 1, 2012

Be able to appear live in Norfolk on April 7.

Here's the press release about Shelby Lynne's appearance at the festival.

Shelby Lynne is a genre-defying American singer/ songwriter with 13 albums to her credit. With the critical success and recognition of her 1999 album I Am Shelby Lynne, she was awarded the Best New Artist Grammy Award in 2000. Her high-charting 2008 album Just a Little Lovin' paid tribute to Dusty Springfield and established Lynne's talents as a song interpreter as well as a writer. She has since started her own independent record label, Everso Records, and has released three albums: Tears, Lies and Alibis, Merry Christmas and Revelation Road.

Her appearance at the Sea Level Singer/Songwriter Festival is part of her first-ever international solo acoustic tour that will mirror the intimacy of her latest release, Revelation Road, which has appeared on numerous top 10 lists of 2011. MOJO, Uncut and AmericanSongwriter.com each awarded Revelation Road four stars.

Seth Stainback will open the show. He was a 2010 Emerging Artist Showcase finalist and an International Blue Challenge finalist chosen to compete in Memphis Jan 31-Feb 4,2012. Additional information is available at SethStainback.com

Tickets for the kick-off concert are $30 in advance and $35 the day of the show. Tickets can be purchased at TWartsOutreach.org. The weekend of events includes other local venue concerts, street musicians, arts and music workshops, and more in Ghent and beyond.

Emerging Artist Showcase

The Emerging Artist Showcase features the top 10 winners of the Sea Level Singer/Songwriter Festival songwriting competition. The Showcase is a popular event that has played to capacity crowds each year and this year’s event will be held at the Kaufman Theatre in the Chrysler Museum of Art on Saturday, April 7. Area songwriters will perform their songs live, and the winners receive local radio and TV airtime, recording session time and more. Musicians must upload two songs and lyrics by March 1. Entry details can be found at TWartsOutreach.org.

Instruments of Art Silent Auction

Regional visual artists will create works of art on musical instruments that will be for sale during a silent auction. Most artwork will be $250 or less, but a range of work is available for purchase. The silent auction kicks off with a reception on March 22, and the Instruments of Art will be on display at NYFO Boutique in Norfolk for several weeks prior to the Festival. Final bids will be accepted on April 7.

Merrill Guitar giveaway

Merrill & Company, known worldwide for fine handmade vintage-quality guitars, is creating a work of art for the Sea Level Singer/Songwriter Festival. This custom-built guitar is made of rare curly spalted mango from Hawaii on the back and sides, ancient redwood top, Adirondack spruce braces, custom hand-carved mahogany neck and ebony fingerboard. This one-of-a-kind instrument would retail for $9,995, but a lucky $10 ticket holder will win the guitar. Only 1,500 opportunities will be sold. Tickets are available at TWartsoutreach.org, and the winner will be announced during the festival in April.

Proceeds from the event support Tidewater Arts Outreach. Event sponsors include Sinclair Communications, Norfolk Economic Development Authority, Office Furniture Outlet, River Notes House Concerts of Norfolk and Kaufman & Canoles.

Tidewater Arts Outreach is a nonprofit organization founded in 2003 to bring music and arts to hospitals, retirement homes, rehabilitation centers, homeless shelters and other facilities throughout Hampton Roads. These performances and programs promote human interaction, happiness and healing for people who have limited access to the arts due to health, economic or social circumstances. In 2011, more than 7,000 people were reached through Tidewater Arts Outreach programs. Tidewater Arts Outreach supports the spirit of empathy and caring in the music and arts community, and more than 237 artists have participated in its programs. For more info, visit TWartsOutreach.org.